Speaking to the press after Real Madrid’s 3-0 (3-2 on aggregate) win over Wolfsburg, Los Blancos coach Zinedine Zidane ironically said that he had never lost his head as a player and would not do so as a coach either.
Zidane celebrated his 100th day as Real Madrid coach with the win over Wolfsburg. Comparing his stint as a coach to his playing career, he said that being a coach was “much much more difficult.”
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The Frenchman added, “There can be difficult moments, but you must be relaxed when that happens. You should not go crazy, as anything can happen in football. I never lost my head as a player, and will never do so as a coach.”
Zidane also said he knew there would be difficult moments in his career as a coach but what was important was that these moments needed to be managed properly.
Madrid progress to the semi-finals
While Zidane has had success in Europe, reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League thanks to the win over Wolfsburg, he has had mixed results in the La Liga.
However, Madrid did win El Clasico against Barcelona and defeated Eibar 4-0 to close the gap to four points over their fierce rivals.
Zidane ironically also had a not-so-calm moment in the game against Wolfsburg. With the tie finely balanced, Karim Benzema’s shot was well saved by Wolfsburg shot-stopper Diego Benaglio. Zidane swiveled around in anguish, tearing a hole in his pants in the process.
The former French skipper had famously been sent off in the World Cup finals against Italy in 2006 for head-butting Marco Materazzi, in what was a classic example of losing one’s head. He had later explained that the head-butt was due to Materazzi taunting him about his mother and sister.
Real Madrid had lost the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal tie in Wolfsburg 2-0. Facing an uphill task to qualify, they relied on their main man, Cristiano Ronaldo to get them through.
Ronaldo scored two goals before the 17th minute and completed his hat-trick with a free kick in the second half to send Real Madrid through to the semi-finals of the Champions League.
In what will be a mouthwatering Champions League semi-final draw, Madrid could face Spanish rivals FC Barcelona or Atletico Madrid, depending on tomorrow's tie. Other possibilities include Benfica, Bayern Munich or Manchester City.
